Hypodermic syringe operable by one hand



y 2, 1967 I c. c. COWLEY 3,316,909

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE' OPERABLE BY ONE HAND Filed Dec. 30, 1963 FIG.

y 2, 1967 c. c. COWLEY 3,316,909

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OPERABLE BY ONE HAND Filed Dec. 30, 1963 FIG,

S d/00M?) United States Patent 3,316,909 HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OPERABLE BYONE HAND Calvin C. Cowley, La Canada, Califl, assignor to PharmasealLaboratories, Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Dec.30, 1963, Ser. No. 334,323 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-218) This invention relatesto a hypodermic syringe, and more particularly to a syringe that can beoperated both on its forward and rearward stroke by one hand.

Often a physician or nurse has only one hand free with which to operatethe syringe and yet with one hand needs to pull the plunger rearwardlyin the barrel. Situations which require this manipulation are numerous.For instance, in an intramuscular injection the plunger is retractedslightly to insure that the needle has not been inserted into a vein,and thereby avoid the injection of a potent medicament directly into thevein. Conversely, in intravenous injections, this method is used toinsure injecting into the vein.

In the past, syringes designed for one-hand operation have employed athumb ring attached to the end of the plunger and two finger ringsattached to the syringe barrel. In operation, the index and middlefingers were positioned within these two finger rings and the thumb inthe thumb ring. These three-ringed syringes, however, have not provensatisfactory. For one thing, there is the difficulty in threading theindex finger, the middle finger, and the thumb through three separaterings. Once the syringe is on the hand there is still a feeling ofinstability, because the rings are relatively thin and in most cases aremuch larger than the diameter of the fingers and thumb. Also, because ofthe larger finger rings projecting from opposite sides of the barrel thesyringe is large and awkward, and the package for this syringe must benearly twice as wide as the package for a normal syringe.

I have overcome these objections to the three-ringed syringe byproviding a novel syringe with a thumb ring in combination with twofinger flanges spaced longitudinally on the barrel. When picking up thissyringe, the thumb is merely threaded into the thumb ring attached tothe plunger, and the index and middle fingers are placed between the twospaced flanges on the barrel of the syringe. Since the finger flanges donot completely surround the fingers as the rings of previous syringesdid, the syringe is much easier to grasp with one hand. Also, theflanges give much better control when holding the syringe because of theflat faces of the flanges which contact the fingers. Since the flangesneed not extend from the side of the barrel as far as finger rings, theoverall width of the syringe can be much less than previous threeringedsyringes. Therefore, my syringe can be packaged in a much smallerpackage.

An object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe that iseasy to operate with one hand on both its forward and rearward stroke.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringewhich is easy to pick up in an operating position, and which can beoperated with a high degree of control with only one hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringewhich is easily operable with one hand, and which does not require alarge package.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon furtherdescription of my invention, of which the following are illustrations:

FIGURE 1 is a top view partially cut away of the syringe;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the syringe;

3,316,909 Patented May 2, 1967 FIGURE 3 is a front view of a fingerflange showing its shape; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the finger flange taken along line4-4 of FIGURE 3.

With reference to the drawings, syringe 1 includes a barrel 2 and anadapter 3 extending from a partially closed end of this barrel. Mountedon adapter 3 is a needle assembly comprising a hub 6 and cannula 7,Slideable within barrel 2 is a plunger 9, the forward end of which has aresilient stopper 8 mounted thereon. The rearward end of plunger 9extends beyond the open end of the barrel, and has an integrallyconnected thumb ring 14. Near the rear of the syringe barrel are mountedtwo spaced finger flanges 13 and 10. A first finger flange 13 is mountedon the barrel very near the rearward open end of barrel 2, and a secondfinger flange 10 is also mounted on barrel 2 but is spaced a distanceforward of first flange 13. The two finger flanges are longitudinallyspaced along barrel 2 so that the index and middle fingers of theoperator can fit between these fingers flanges. The second flange 10, aswell as first finger flange 113, may also in clude circular lips 11 and12, which can be firmly attached to the barrel by cementing, spinwelding, or other similar means to hold the flange in place.

A more detailed description of the finger flanges will be made with areference to FIGURES 3 and 4. Both flanges have substantially the sameshape, and for illustrative purposes the second flange 10 has been shownin detail in FIGURE 3. Here the finger flange is generally oval shapedand includes ears 17 and 18 extending from opposite ends of the flange.Connecting these two ears 17 and 18 are flat sections 15 and 16 whichrun parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally oval-shapedfinger flange 10. Either of flat sections 15 or 16, when aligned with asimilar flat section on the first flange 13, can provide a base on whichthe syringe can rest when in a horizontal position such as in thepackage or on a table. The syringe thus has less tendency to roll thanit would if the finger flanges were completely circular. As can be seenfrom FIGURE 3, the ears 17 and 18 each provide a relatively large, flatface which the fingers can engage for easy control of the syringe.

There are several ways in which to attach the finger flanges to thesyringe barrel. The flanges may be molded separately and then attachedto the barrel, the flanges may be integrally molded with the barrel, orone flange may be integrally molded with the barrel and the other flangemay be separately molded and then fastened to the barrel. However, Ihave found that the molding process is simplified if the first fingerflange 13 is integrally molded with the barrel and the second fingerflange is separately molded as shown in FIGURE 3 and attached in aseparate step to the syringe barrel 2. In the preferred embodiment, thesecond flange includes an oval-shaped plate with a circular centerpassage. Lips 11 and 12 extend from. opposite sides of this plate andsurround the center passage. These lips stabilize the flange and providea widened area at which to seal the flange to the barrel if the flangeis not molded integrally with the barrel. An easy way to attach thissecond flange to the barrel is to spin weld the cylindrical lips 11 and12, or at least one of these lips, to the syringe barrel.

I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention.However, those skilled in the art will understand that certainmodifications may be made to this embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

A disposable hypodermic syringe comprising:

( a) a cylindrical thermoplastic barrel open at one end and partiallyclosed at an opposite end, said barrel having a substantially constantdiameter bore extending between its two ends; (b) an adapter forsupporting a needle assembly connected to the partially closed end ofsaid barrel; (c) a plunger and stopper coupled together and axiallyslideable to and fro Within said barrel, said stopper being in fluidtight contact with said barrel, the end of said plunger opposite saidstopper extending beyond the open end of said barrel, whereby Withdrawalof the extending portion of the plunger also withdraws the stopperthrough the barrels open end for disassembly of the plunger and barrel;((1) a thumb ring integrally attached to the end of said plungerextending beyond the open end of said barrel; (e) a first, fiat,transverse, disk-like thermoplastic flange adjacent said open end ofsaid barrel and integrally molded to said barrel, said first flangeinclud ing two ears extending from opposite ends of the flange, saidears having -a thickened section adjacent said barrel, each of said earsextending perpendicularly outwardly from the barrel a distancesubstantially less than the thumb rings diameter; and (f) a second flat,transverse, disk-like thermoplastic flange integrally molded to saidbarrel at a location spaced from the open end of said barrel and fromsaid first flange, said second flange having two ears extending fromopposite ends of the flange, said ears having a thickened sectionadjacent said barrel, each of said ears extending perpendicularlyoutwardly from the barrel a distance substantially less than thediameter of the thumb ring said finger receiving portions of the firstand second flanges being substantially as wide as the barrel at theirjuncture with the barrel to provide a syringe which is easy to controland manipulate when grasped.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 780,146 6/1904Wilcox et al. 128-218 1,589,046 6/1926 Brix 1282l8 2,505,028 4/1950Boeger 128215 X 2,972,991 2/1961 Burke 128-218 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,7831909 Great Britain. 119,746 10/ 1918 Great Britain;

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

25 DALTON L. TRULUCK, Examiner,

